Saturday, 15 December 2012

Excited by the coming Winter Solstice and the Yuletide Season of Good will, or perhaps just the figgy pudding ahead, Celestial Elf does a happy dance.

The
tradition of Carol singing or wassailing falls into two distinct
categories: The House-Visiting wassail and the Orchard-Visiting wassail.
House-Visiting wassail, caroling by any other name, is the practice of
people going door-to-door singing Christmas carols. The word Wassail
comes from the Anglo-Saxon toast Wæs þu hæl, "be thou hale" — i.e., "be
in good health". The practice has its roots in the middle ages as a
reciprocal exchange between the feudal lords and their peasants as a
form of recipient initiated charitable giving, to be distinguished from
begging. This point is made in the song "Here We Come A-Wassailing",
when the wassailers inform the lord of the house that"we are not daily beggars that beg from door to door but we are friendly neighbours whom you have seen before."

The
lord of the manor would give food and drink to the peasants in exchange
for their blessing and goodwill, which would be given in the form of
the song being sung. Wassailing is the background practice against which
an English carol such as "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" dating back to
sixteenth century England, can be made sense of.[4] The carol lies in
the English tradition where wealthy people of the community gave
Christmas treats to the carolers on Christmas Eve such as 'figgy
puddings.

~ **We wish you a Merry Christmas ** ~

We wish you a Merry Christmas (x3)and a Happy New Year.

REFRAIN Good tidings we bring to you and your kinWe wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Now! bring us some figgy pudding (x3)and bring some out here. (or, and bring it us here)

REFRAIN Good tidings we bring to you and your kinWe wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

For we all like figgy pudding (x3)so bring some out here.

REFRAIN Good tidings we bring to you and your kinWe wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

And we won't go until we've got some (x3)so bring some out here.

REFRAIN Good tidings we bring to you and your kinWe wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

It's a season for music (x3)and a time of good Cheer.

REFRAINGood tidings we bring to you and your kinWe wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.(Some versions print the refrain as "Glad tidings" instead of "Good tidings')

SUPPLIES: Yule log (oak or pine) with white, red and black candles on
it (set it in the fireplace), chalice of wine, small piece of paper and
pencil for each person.

The altar is adorned with evergreens
such as pine, rosemary, bay, juniper and cedar, and the same can be laid
to mark the Circle.

~* Ritual for Yule *~

After casting the circle the Priestess should say:

"Since the beginning of time, we have gathered in this season to celebrate the rebirth of the Sun. On the Winter Solstice, the darkest of nights, The Goddess becomes the Great Mother and once again gives birth to the Sun and the new yearly cycle, Bringing new light and hope to all on Earth. On the longest night of winter, and the dark night of our souls, there springs the new spark of hope, the Sacred Fire, the Light of the World. We gather tonight to await the new light. On this night, the Maiden, who is also Mother and Crone, prepares to welcome the Sun. Let's now prepare to welcome the new light within."

~Invocation to the Goddess and God: (Priest) "I light this fire in your honor Mother Goddess You have created life from death, warmth from cold The Sun lives once again, the time of light is waxing. We invite you, Great Mother, to our circle Bring us new light, the light of your glorious Son."

(Priestess light the white candle on the Yule log and say): "I come to you as Maiden Young and free, fresh as springtime Yet within me a yearning stirs to create and share and so I become...

(Light the red candle) The Mother I bring forth the fruit of my creativity Yet an ancient prophet once told me, as I stood with my son, A sword shall pierce through thy own heart also And I knew that I must become...

(Light the black candle) The Crone The ancient wise one, Lady of Darkness We three - in - one who brought forth that special child as long ago, also anointed him for burial- A bright light that grew and was sacrificed to be reborn as a new light."

(Priest) "Ancient God of the forest, we welcome you Return from the shadows, O Lord of Light. The wheel has turned. We call you back to warm us. Great God of the Sun I welcome your return May you shine brightly upon the Earth."

~Consecration of the Yule Log (Priestess) "Yule is the end of the old solar year and the beginning of the new one. Traditionally, the end of the year is a time to look back and reflect. It is a time to look ahead to the future, to make plans and set goals."

On your piece of paper, write something you hope to accomplish during
the coming year. When you are finished, attach the slip of paper to the
Yule Log.

Priest picks up the chalice and says: "We toast the new year (sprinkles wine on the log) and in token of its promise, we consecrate this sacred wood as a focus for the energies through which we accomplish our tasks and manifest our desires during the coming cycle."

~All drink from the chalice.

(Priestess) "You who have died are now reborn. Lend us your light throughthe winter months as we await the spring. Let us now light the Yule Log. Once having burned with the Yule fire, these candles will contain the luck of the log throughout the coming year." (remember to save a small piece of the log for next Yule or save the ashes or the candles.)

~Priest and Priestess light the Yule log together.

~Closing: (Priestess - extinguishing the God taper) "Thank you Bright Lord for the light you have brought to us this night May we carry it within us throughout the coming year."

(Priest - extinguishing the Goddess taper) "Thank you most gracious Lady for your freshness of spirit, your nurturing care your infinite wisdom Live within us throughout the coming year. So mote it be."

Morning light will flood the chamber- winter solstice sun.Energy unfolding,Saturn’s rule has just begun.Crystals formed of ice and frostfreeze field and forest green.While Mighty Oak and HollyFight for favours from our Queen.The Great Wheel brings conception,birth, and death as days of yore.Each bonfire on a leylinehonours what has gone before.Seven planets, seven spheres,seven gates swing open.I lift my arms and call the chargethe incantation spoken!I conjure water spirits,Pour forth the sacred windscome hither, O great fire!The magick now begins!Solar vapors, starry heavensclouds and earth and wavesunite in your perfectionon this shortest solstice day!I hold the key of secretsand the phantoms will availthe crossroads shimmer openas the rod connects to grail.Seven planets, seven spheres,seven gates swing open.I list my arms and call the chargethe incantation spoken!Beribboned Yule logs burningeach spark a blessing brings.Red and green, the sacred bloodof past and future kings.Mistletoe and bayberry,winter’s leaves and resin.Spice and myrrh and evergreenconnect the Earth to heaven.Through scented smoke and sacred prayerI manifest good will.Bring peace and joy to hearth and homeand every wish fulfill.Seven planets, seven spheresseven gates swing open

''Once
Upon a Time, there lives an elder named Baba Jaga, she was a loving
woman and very powerful shaman, respected by all the rand tribes people.
But one day, vampires of earth came, men who lead large armies under
the Vatican's command. 700 years ago, and when the demon warriors of the
church, came, they were only following the orders of their Vatican
leaders.

And they wanted Baba Yaga dead in the
Slavic and Balkan lands, so first they destroyed her reputation as a
Grandmother, a sin under the heaven and earth, that reaps a most severe
punishment from the primordial grandmothers who are eternal.

Then they made up lies about Baba eating babies and stealing children,
the second sin they committed, then they killed her women, her medicine
and her soul, the third. These demons raged through the villages,
forest and mountain to kill all Baba healers,who were wise sages before
religion had ever touched these sacred lands, and then they destroyed
her teachings and finally her original myth as shaman and wind
whisperer, until all that was left, was her corpse, laying in the mud,
raped and beaten.
Then the church tortured and raped her until
only her name would be spoken in vain and images of her would only
carry their darkness on her face. They even killed and destroyed the
most sacred alkonost's, siren's and magpie women.

After 700
years of this oppression Baba Yaga is finally returning to wholeness,
for Spring always returns in the circle of life and Mother Earth has
commanded her wisest Baba's to restore what was corrupted. She gladly
said yes with a song in her sweet voice. Knowing that sending Demons to
hell is one of her favorite jobs.''

* * *

In
response to queries over the nature and orientation of Baba Yaga, was
she not fearsome before she was demonized by Christian orders, I have
researched further. Even when Baba Yaga appears in the most unfavorable
light and has a ferocity of nature, she
still knows the future, has countless treasures, and knows secret
knowledge - all typical aspects in the portrayal Shamanic Wise Women and
Healers.Often
she is said to live in the densest forest, which further scared people
and added to the mystery and fear surrounding her because the forest is
perceived as the boundary between the world of the dead and the living.
No wonder then that her hut is surrounded by a palisade of human bones
and skulls and that in many fairy tales, Baba Yaga eats human flesh.

Incidentally
many magical practitioners of various sorts have employed aspects of
death such as use of skull or grave dirt etc in their work of divination
and beyond, including the pre Buddhist Bon magicians of Tibet (whilst
Tibetan monks have also been known to use goblets carved from human
skulls) and a 'symbolic' eating of flesh (usually by the super-natural
entity) is well attested in accounts of Cunning folk and their familiar
or faery spirit helpers, as well as in many forms of Christianity.

The
Entsiklopediya mythology also claims that originally Baba Yaga has been
a god of death: a woman with a snake tail, who guarded the entrance to
the underworld and accompanied the deceased souls of the dead on their
journey. This is somewhat reminiscent of the ancient Greek maiden-snake.
According to ancient myths, from his marriage to Heracles Echidna gave
birth to the Scythians, and the Scythians are considered the earliest
ancestors of the Slavs -

Therefore
whilst Baba Yaga may indeed have been a fearsome old woman that lived
in a house made of bones before further demonisation by the Church,
these aspects of her status as a healer and Wise Woman need not be in
conflict to any extent at all.